McLaren Automotive replaced McLaren Cars in 2010. McLaren Cars was founded in 1985 and released the McLaren F1 in 1992. Bruce McLaren founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing in 1963. Born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1937, he learned about cars and engineering at his parents’ service station and workshop. By 15, he had entered a local hillclimb in an Austin 7 Ulster, winning his first race in the car.
McLaren's Formula One career began in 1958, and he joined the Cooper Formula One team a year later. In 1959, he won the US Grand Prix at age 22, making him the youngest Grand Prix winner to that date. He stayed with Cooper for a further seven years, winning three more Grands Prix and other races, driving for Jaguar and Aston Martin, and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 with Ford. In 1964, the company built the first true McLaren race car, the M1 (24 customer cars were produced by Elva). Its successor, the M1B, allowed McLaren into the Can-Am championship, where it dominated with 43 victories. In 1965, the first McLaren Formula One car, the M2B, debuted at the Monaco Grand Prix.
In 1980, Ron Dennis’ Project 4 Racing team merged with McLaren, bringing back designer John Barnard, who was interested in using carbon fibre composite. McLaren pioneered the use of carbon fibre in motor racing with its new car, the MP4/1, bringing new levels of rigidity and driver safety to Formula 1. This followed a period where McLaren Cars was registered as a 'dormant company' between 1994 and 2010, before the founding of McLaren Automotive in 2010. In 1992, the F1 was launched.
McLaren's first purpose-built road car was the F1. The company launched its current three-tier product structure in 2015, dividing their range of cars into the Sports, Super, and Ultimate Series. Cars in the Sports and Super Series are given names based on the car's power output in PS, followed by a model designation (C for club, S for sport, GT for grand tourer and LT for longtail). The Sports Series is the entry-level tier, the Super Series is considered to be McLaren's core model range, the Ultimate Series is the high-end tier intended to be the successor to the original F1.
In 1999, McLaren agreed to design and manufacture the SLR (also known as P7) in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz. The final stages of production of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren took place at a designated assembly facility at the McLaren Technology Centre. The SLR featured a 5.5-litre supercharged V8 engine that produced 626 PS at 6500 rpm and 780 N⋅m of torque at 3250–5000 rpm. In 2006, the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR 722 Edition was announced, producing 650 PS at 6500 rpm and 820 N⋅m of torque. In 2007, the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR Convertible was announced.
McLaren Customer Racing is the sports car racing arm of McLaren Automotive, established in 2011 as McLaren GT to develop, build and support all McLaren track and GT race activities. The division is currently responsible for the design, development and production of the 720S GT3 and 570S GT4, along with the new Artura GT4 and Artura Trophy. McLaren Special Operations (MSO) is McLaren's bespoke division, officially launched in 2011, with origins dating back over 20 years.
McLaren Automotive is based at the McLaren Technology Centre, alongside the rest of the McLaren Group, and at the adjacent McLaren Production Centre. The two facilities are connected by a subterranean walkway, with the MPC built partially underground to minimise its presence. In 2017 McLaren announced the construction of the £50m McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham.
As of December 2024, CYVN Holdings have acquired the automotive business of McLaren from Mumtalakat, a deal which will see the high-performance automobile company weather through the financial woes and build its first electric supercar. The deal will also see CYVN hold a non-controlling stake in McLaren's racing business. In April 2025, following its successful acquisition of McLaren, CYVN merged McLaren with Forseven, a British electric vehicle start-up under their ownership, with the combined companies being renamed McLaren Group Holdings.
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